It was difficult to forecast what kind of player Quinton Elliot would be in college.
When the Charleston, West Virginia, native was being recruited out of high school, Indiana men’s soccer was a natural option. Elliot trained with the Columbus Crew Academy, where Indiana head coach Todd Yeagley played in the late 1990s and maintains strong ties.
Yeagley was unsure if Elliot would remain in the midfield or convert to outside back. All he knew for certain was that Elliot was a “really good soccer athlete.” Despite being enamored with Bloomington and viewing the program as his top choice, Elliot ultimately committed to the University of Louisville, where he spent two seasons before transferring to Indiana in January for his junior year.
In Indiana’s 2-2 draw with Washington on Friday night at Bill Armstrong Stadium, Elliot scored his first goals as a Hoosier, netting two within the first 18 minutes of the match. If his decision to transfer needed any justification, his performance against the Huskies provided it.
“When I hit the portal out of Louisville, I knew this was a place I wanted to be,” Elliot said postgame. “I loved the area, the team. I couldn’t pass up on it again.”
Aside from the hole at fullback left by Brett Bebej — who utilized his final year of eligibility in 2023 — there were plenty of reasons Yeagley “immediately” contacted Elliot when the transfer window opened. For one, his attacking versatility was enticing.
That much was obvious Friday night. A little over five minutes into the match, Elliot received a pass from fifth-year senior defender Jansen Miller on the right wing and angled toward a Washington defender. Elliot danced past the Husky with a quick two-touch move and tiptoed along the goal line, setting his sights on Washington senior goalkeeper Jadon Bowton.
Just inside the six-yard box, Elliot poked a shot through Bowton’s legs to give Indiana a 1-0 advantage. Then, roughly seven minutes after the Huskies equalized, Elliot struck yet again.
Washington’s backline failed to adequately clear the ball away from danger, and Elliot maneuvered into position for a shot. From the right side of the box, Elliot used the outside of his right foot to curl the half-volley into the opposite side of the goal.
18' | 2️⃣ FOR 2️⃣!!@_Quinton9_ | #IUMS pic.twitter.com/hOXFw8A3R5
— Indiana Men's Soccer (@IndianaMSOC) October 4, 2024
Some players might not be willing to test the technique in a game, but it’s nothing Elliot’s never attempted before.
“I try in practice,” Elliot said with a laugh. “Sometimes it comes off, but I’m happy it came off tonight.”
Even Yeagley, a four-time All-American player and 15-year head coach, was left a bit dazzled. He coached current Chicago Fire FC defender and former MAC Hermann Trophy winner Andrew Gutman from 2015-2018 at Indiana, bearing witness to one of the program’s top players of the 21st century.
Gutman, as a fullback, scored a team-high 11 goals for the Hoosiers in 2018 en route to First-Team All-American and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors. But a trivela goal like Elliot’s?
“I don’t know if (Gutman) has the outside of the foot finish,” Yeagley said. “So that was a new one.”
On defense, Elliot has been a consistently reliable foil for speedy wingers. In the second half against Washington, Husky sophomore forward Charlie Kosakoff cut back on the edge of the 18-yard box and prepared to send a test toward Indiana senior goalkeeper JT Harms.
Elliot mirrored Kosakoff’s motion and crouched to deflect the shot away to safety. Despite his stable presence on the backline, Elliot said there’s been a consistent push from the coaching staff to get him more involved on the attack, something he was doing less frequently at Louisville.
“It was kind of breaking that habit of staying back a little bit,” Elliot said. “Same message, but now I feel like I’m being able to explore more up top.”
Yeagley’s known for at least two years about Elliot’s unique athletic ability and playmaking potential. He’s also known about his easy-going personality and “likable” nature, which he said makes Elliot a strong fit on this year’s squad.
After Indiana’s 2-2 draw with the University of Notre Dame on Aug. 29, senior forward Tommy Mihalic said Elliot is one of the best players he’s ever seen from a technical standpoint. Yeagley wouldn’t use Gutman’s 11-goal tally as motivation for just any defender.
This season, he used it for Elliot.
“He’s a player that doesn’t quite know how good he is, which is not a bad thing,” Yeagley said. “But he could be an All-American outside back. And tonight, he played like one.”
Follow reporters Matt Press (@MattPress23) and Mateo Fuentes-Rohwer (@mateo_frohwer) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s soccer season.
